Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/01/30
By: Chen Wei-ting and Lilian Wu

Taipei, Jan. 30 (CNA) The Centers for Disease Control on Saturday

confirmed the first case of German measles, also known as rubella, in Taiwan this year and called on the public to be on alert if they travel to Southeast Asia.

The CDC said the patient, a 39-year-old woman living in northern Taiwan, developed rashes and sought treatment on Jan. 18.

The situation did not improve, however, and after developing a fever, a cough and lymphatic swelling in her neck, she saw a doctor again on Jan. 20 and was diagnosed as having German measles.

The patient is now recovering well and has been removed from quarantine, the CDC said.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/01/19
By: Lung Pei-ning and Lilian Wu

Taipei, Jan. 19 (CNA) The Zika virus has arrived in Taiwan, the Ministry of

Health and Welfare said Tuesday, after a Thai national coming to Taiwan to work was confirmed to be infected with the virus.

The 24-year-old man was detected with a fever when he arrived at Taoyuan International Airport on Jan. 10, and other symptoms later arose that led doctors to conclude that he had the virus.

He is now in stable condition at a hospital, the Centers for Disease Control said Tuesday.

The mosquito-borne disease is currently prevalent in Central and South America, especially Brazil, Southeast Asian countries, and some Pacific islands.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/01/16
By: Lung Pei-ning and Y.F. Low

Taipei, Jan. 16 (CNA) The Taiwanese Dermatological Association (TDA) said Friday that a lack of regulation on topical steroids in Taiwan has led to widespread abuse of the medicine in Taiwan.

Since a reporting system was established by the association, hospitals around the country have reported more than 500 cases of topical steroid abuse within a month, TDA President Yang Chih-hsun (楊志勛) said.

In most of those cases, patients bought topical steroids at pharmacies to treat skin diseases without first consulting doctors, which worsened their problems, Yang said.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/01/12
By: Chen Wei-ting and Christie Chen

Taipei, Jan. 12 (CNA) A 22-month-old infant was one of four

people who died of flu-related complications in Taiwan last week, becoming the youngest flu victim to die since the flu season began in July, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Tuesday.

Authorities confirmed 18 new flu cases with complications and four flu-associated deaths last week, bringing the total number of confirmed flu cases and deaths since July 1 to 196 and 34, respectively.

Lin Yung-ching (林詠青), a doctor with the CDC, said the three others who died from the flu in the past week were all adults who suffered from chronic diseases such as diabetes. None of them had been vaccinated.     [FULL  STORY]

Outbreak News Today
Date: January 11, 2016
By: Press Release

Valneva SE, a leading pure play vaccine company, announced today that vaccine manufacturer Adimmune was granted marketing approval for Valneva’s Japanese encephalitis (JE) vaccine by the Taiwanese Food & Drug Administration (TFDA). The product is expected to be marketed in Taiwan under the trade name JEVAL® .

This approval follows the agreement signed in 2014 between Valneva and Adimmune granting Adimmune the right to commercialize JEVAL® in Taiwan, including the right to locally fill and pack JEVAL® by using bulk product delivered by Valneva.

Thomas Lingelbach, President and CEO, and Franck Grimaud, Deputy CEO of Valneva commented, “The JEVAL® approval is an important step forward in our JE vaccine expansion strategy into endemic markets. Given Adimmune’s leading position as a commercial vaccine manufacturer in Taiwan, we expect strong product supplies in this market, allowing us to leverage our existing manufacturing capacities and significantly contribute to our product profitability.”     [FULL  STORY]